Mall Mania

So what do you do with a afternoon to kill in the greatest city in the world?
I'm a little embarrassed to tell you - we went to the mall.
Not just any mall, mind you. This is Westfield, a brand-spanking new mall here in London said to have cost 1.7 billion to build here in this time of credit crunch. It opened Thursday and we decided to check it out - us and about 160,000 other people.
In many ways, a mall is a mall. Whether you're in Charlotte, Chicago or Costa Mesa, they pretty look the same - there are four or five "anchor" stores, plus Pottery Barn, Gap, a ton of shoe, clothing, music and jewelry stores.
To get to Westfield, we made one Tube change. We had a choice of two stations to take us straight to the mall. We had to walk a tiny bit from the station - but no further than we would have had we driven a car.
It was raining, windy and cold when we arrived, so it was nice to get inside. The mall is three levels and is built in a circle so just keep walking and eventually you'll get back to the same place.
By the time we arrived, mall staff had run out of maps. They hadn't expected the massive turnout. We arrived in mid-afternoon so we missed the major festivities - free champagne, entertainment by Leona Lewis, appearances by Twiggy Lawson and the Mayor of London.
So we had to just wander around and check the place out. It's glitzy for sure - and huge. The retail mix is a little different than what you'd see in America particularly since there's an enormous supermarket. Can you imagine a grocery store in the local mall? At Westfield, there are actually two - a standalone market at Waitrose and a food hall at Marks & Spencer.
There's a restaurant row that allows you to visit an eatery without actually going into the mall - similar to Cheesecake Factory at SouthPark Mall. At Westfield, this area is called the Southern Terrace and it has 17 places to eat, including The Real Greek, Wahacca, Tibits, Ito, Esca and Del'Aziz. All in all, there are nearly 50 places to nosh at Westfield - that gives you some idea of how huge this place is.
One of the most interesting things we noticed is the number of high-end designer shops - Gucci, Prada, Ferragamo, Dior and Louis Vuitton. Economy be darned, somebody out there has money to spend.
Not us, I guess. We left the mall without spending a dime. And honestly, I left a little depressed.
One of the things I truly love about this city is shopping along the high street - walking down the sidewalk in the weather, mesmerized by the store window displays. I love going into those multi-story department stores that are like retail wonderlands. I can go to a mall anywhere, but shopping along the high street in London has such character and flavor.
I'm glad I saw the behemoth that is Westfield but while I'm here, I'll do my shopping along the high streets.
And guess what? There's a Gap at Westfield. You'll never escape.

Snow!

It snowed in London late last night - first October snow in the Capital since 1934! But it was a North Carolina snow - it's all gone today - not even a trace!
We went to bookstore nirvana today - Charing Cross Road. It's just a few blocks but the best new and used bookstores are there. I love Foyles - It's enormous and it just rambles on and on for five floors. The British book chains - Foyles, Blackwells, Waterstones - do not do things to encourage you to browse and read in the store. Borders does - they have a cafe where you can take unpurchased books and a few seats scattered about - but at the others, it's a stand-up deal.
Another thing about bookstores here - they don't have really extensive magazine sections. Something that cracks me up is that the biography section is filled with books about people I really had never heard of, although we're beginning to recognize the names of TV presenters and politicians now.

Brussels Break, Part Two

One of the coolest things about living in London is that you're so close to so much. You're around two hours from Paris, Dublin, Brussels and short plane trips away from a host of other wonderful cities.
Imagine taking weekend trips to see the iconic sites of Europe: the Eiffel Tower, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, the Brandenburg Gate, the Acropolis, the Temple of Mnajdra?
Well, we did it - in one afternoon. No kidding.
We went to Mini-Europe.
Mini-Europe is a hoot. It's part of the Bruparck just outside Brussels, and it's just as cheesy as you think it would be, but we had a great time. I highly recommend it.

Everything in Mini-Europe is 1/25th the size of the actual landmark, making for some interesting photo opportunities. There's a lot to see, as even going at a pretty fast pace, we spent at least 90 minutes there.
It was fun to see people of different nationalities finding the landmarks of their home country. We asked a nice English family to take our picture in front of the Big Ben replica. Look at our new picture for the result.
The park, sponsored by the European Union, promotes the vision of a united Europe. But we mostly enjoyed the campiness of it all, highlighted by a walk through a cheesy gift shop on the way out.
The Bruparck is located on the site of the 1958 Brussels World's Fair, the first one held after the end of World War II and the first one since the 1939 fair in New York. Like most of the Worlds Fairs in history, most of it is gone now, but the one thing that's left of the Brussels Expo is its most famous symbol.
It's called the Atomium and it's a representation of an iron crystal, magnified 165 billion times. Don't ask me how they know that.
It's always interesting to look at how people in the past thought the future was going to be. (Think "The Jetsons" here -- flying cars and people dressed in space suits).

We're both interested in the history of the Fifties, which both of us lived in, but don't remember much about. There seemed to be a lot of faith in science and progress in making a better world. But it was also the time of the Cold War, and the U.S. and the Soviet Union used the fair to present their competing vision of progress to the world.
You can walk inside the Atomium -- 86 stairs and a couple of escalators to get to the top, 335 feet off the ground. Along the way there are lots of mementos, exhibits and artifacts from the World's Fair. There's a display with facts about the fair. Some of the most interesting:
More than 41 million people visited the Expo, and 30 million of them visited the U.S. and Soviet pavilions. Five people died and eight babies were born at the fair. Twenty-seven people tried to commit suicide. Some 52,000 pints of beer were sold in one day at one of the cafes.
Liz Taylor and Frank Sinatra were among the visitors seen in photos displayed at the Atomium, along with heads of state and just plain folks. Quite a blast from the past...
We made our way back down -- 186 more stairs -- and through another gift shop. Then we found our way back to the Metro, to the city center to shop for chocolate and eat waffles one more time, then off to the train after picking up our suitcase at the hotel.
One more thing: as we were walking down the street in Brussels, we noticed a familiar logo - the one we see on Food Lion stores back home. Food Lion is owned by a company called Delhaize, which is headquartered in Belgium. So it was oddly familiar to see that lion logo under the words "Supermarche." We peeked inside to find some funny food products and we spotted the logo on a bottle of lemon drink. Probably won't find this at home.
The trip back on the Eurostar was a dream. It was nice, comfortable ride back to London. It took us about 20 minutes from the time we got off the train at St. Pancras and onto the bus until we arrived at the flat. There's nothing like coming back home from a foreign country, right?

Brussels Break, Part One

We were, as Londoners say, ready for a city break. So we hopped on the Eurostar Friday morning and two hour later, we were in Brussels.
The Eurostar is a fabulous way to travel. From our flat we took the bus (10 minutes) to St. Pancras, a beautiful old station that's been refurbished and has achieved that balance of being very modern in functionality yet retaining its age and character. Even though we were taking a train to a foreign country, the whole check-in procedure was incredibly easy. Our bag went through the x-ray but no shoes off. We boarded about 9:40 a.m. and pulled out of the station about 10 a.m.
Seats were a little bigger than an airline seat but with much more headroom. Plenty of places to store luggage because very few people check theirs. We thought it felt much more spacious than a plane.
Our route to Brussels took us through the Channel Tunnel, into France and then on to Brussels - a trip that took about 2 hours, 15 minutes. Keith said he could tell when we emerged from the tunnel because all of a sudden, it was light. (You're only in the tunnel for 20 minutes.) I will have to trust him on that because I was asleep before we pulled out of St. Pancras and I woke up as we pulled into Brussels. (I sleep like a top on planes - and now, trains.)
So we arrive in Brussels and hop on the subway to get to our hotel, The Hotel Thon City Centre. It's on a busy street, across from a high-rise mall and next to a Sheraton and a Hilton. To get to the front desk we had to walk down a flight of curving marble steps. We were in a room on the 18th floor so we had some nice city views.
Our flat is London is home now, and it is very nice, but the floors are wood laminate and there are no rugs. There are times when I just want to put my feet on something soft and cushy. So I was excited to check into a hotel and feel something soft and warm under my slippers.
The Thon had dark wood laminate floors. Not a stitch of carpet.
The room was small but nice. We thumbed through the channels and found interesting things - French, German, Greek, Turkish channels. "Friends" in English with Dutch subtitles. "The Bucket List" in French. And wonder of wonders, the hotel had an ice machine - this was a big deal. Restaurants in London don't have ice machines!


After a few minutes of R&R in the room, we hit the streets. Our destination was the Grand Place, the must-see city square. The area has been the site of open-air markets since the 11th century but the Grand Place you see today started to take shape in the early 17th century. The buildings are beautiful, the architectural detail is a wonder. The cobblestone square itself is quite large and is strung with wires with lights in them. You really don't notice them so much in bright daylight but as the sun starts to set the lights are lovely.
Shops and restaurants line the square. You can find exactly what you'd expect in Belgium - beautiful lace and lots of chocolate.

We hit the square in late afternoon and we were getting hungry. It had been a long time since our quick breakfast at St. Pancras. Keith - The Guide Book King - had read that a must-have meal in Brussels is moules and frites and he was keen to try it. That's mussels and fries if you're not in Belgium.
I'm not a mussels fan but I figured I'd find something to eat. The Guide Book suggested t'Kelderke right on the Grand Place, so off we went.
Up until I went in this restaurant (very quaint, small, below street level), I considered myself a pretty savvy, sophisticated traveler. Keith spots his mussels - the specialty of the house - straight away. I'm looking over the menu and there it is, under steak: HORSEMEAT.
I couldn't believe it. I look again, under stews: HORSEMEAT.
The whole menu began to repulse me: Pig trotters, Jellied Eel. Black pudding. I had to stop looking.
Keith got his moules and frites and I got fries. That's it. Plain fries, nothing on them. In Brussels, they like mayonnaise with their fries. No, thank you. By the way, if you associate chips (fries) with England, you're off base. Little Belgium apparently devours more chips than any other European country.
I know this is a cultural thing. Horsemeat is on menus all over France, Belgium, The Netherlands and other European countries - and how is different from a pig or cow, right? In my mind it is - and I just couldn't eat it or be near where it was served.
Keith enjoyed his mussels and a new treat for him - kriek. That's a cherry beer and even though I am not a beer drinker, I did taste it and it was quite good. (It did not taste like Cheerwine!)
Before the day ended we had to visit what is perhaps the most famous attraction in Brussels. This tiny statue on a corner was placed on the site in 1619 and was there until 1817 when it was stolen and smashed. The next year, a new statue was erected and this is the one we see today.
The bronze statue is called Manneken Pis and it is about a foot tall. It is a small boy urinating into a pool. He is quite popular. Most of the time he is naked but he does have clothes - more than 650 outfits, all housed in a museum. Visiting heads of state bring costumes of their native land to him. He also has a Santa suit and an Elvis costume (donated by Bill Clinton, perhaps?).
It is a little hard to believe that you're standing in a crowd of about 20 people, all jockeying for position to see this little peeing statue. We started thinking about those decals you see on trucks back home - the little boy peeing on a NASCAR number. Could Manneken Pis have been the inspiration?
We ended our first day in Belgium with - what else? - a waffle. They're everywhere you go, but we sauntered into a lovely place called J. Dandoy to get ours. Mine was so good. It was pretty simple - stewed cherries and chantilly. The small, dark cherries were not sweet, but really not sour. Just perfect.
Keith got a waffle with warm chocolate sauce (a thin sauce, not a hot fudge) with ice cream.
We took the long way home, strolling the winding cobblestone streets. It's easy to imagine yourself in the 1700s as you walk those streets. But not so easy to get horsemeat off your mind.

London Lingo

Well, we've been here almost two months, and you'll be happy to know that I have not begun to affect an English accent. I thought I might, because I've always been something of a language chameleon - everywhere I've lived, I begin to take on the local accent. I blend in like a native, ya'll.
Here I am fascinated by the way people talk. There are many accents here - several different kinds of English ones, plus Irish and Scottish. Of course, as soon as I open my mouth, they can tell I'm no native. People always want to know where in America I am from, and very often people tell me how much they love America and where they've been if they've visited. I haven't met anyone who has been to North Carolina, but many people have said they've been to LA - and I'm guessing they don't mean Lower Alabama.
One of the things I love is the expressions I hear. You really pick those up by watching TV. We don't watch a lot but sometimes we have the TV on, and we get involved in whatever's on. Here are a few expressions we've picked up through television and just talking to people - and their American equivalents:

Brilliant - wonderful, great, fabulous - I had a brilliant time last night.
Cracking - superior - I love to eat there; they have a cracking burger.
Taking a piss - kidding, teasing - Is that true, or are you taking a pis?
Nip - Run out to - I think I'll nip to the store
Jab - Shot - Have you had a flu jab this winter?
Festive period - The Christmas holidays
Holiday - Vacation - Where are you going on holiday?
To let - To rent - They have an apartment to let.
Lettings - real estate listings. Have you seen the lettings at Pearl and Coutts?
Peckish - Hungry for a snack. I had lunch a few hours ago, but I'm feeling peckish.
Nick - Steal - Watch your bag; someone might nick it.
Till - Cash register - Pay at the till.
Queue - Line up. We had to wait in a queue at the box office.
Cinema - movie theater.
Scheme - Plan or program, not negative or devious. Have you signed up for the loyalty scheme at Boots?
Jumper - Sweater
Lorry - Truck
Alight - Get off - Alight here for Buckingham Palace or Westminster Abbey, etc ... (heard often on the Tube)
Bags of _________. Lots of something. I saw a newspaper story that said "Prince Harry has bags of personality."
Cling film - Saran or plastic wrap.
Bin - trashcan
Rubbish - Trash, but also something bad. I need to learn to cook - I'm just rubbish in the kitchen.
Washing-up liquid - Dishwashing detergent.
Nutter - crazy person - He's a real nutter.
Barking nutter - A really crazy person - He's a barking nutter, that one.
Telly - Television. And they usually don't say "the" in front of it. "Think I'll watch telly tonight."
Dodgy - Suspect, unreliable, questionable. We've had that chicken since Sunday - it may be a bit dodgy by now.
Barmy - Confused, mixed-up. I can't remember; you know, I'm a bit barmy.
Mince - Ground meat. There's beef mince, pork mince and lamb mince.
Brolly - Umbrella
Pram - Baby stroller
Dead - Extremely, very. He's dead handsome. In this area, you have to drive dead slow.
Mac - Raincoat.
Advert - advertisement
Close - cul de sac I live on St. Luke's Close.
Nappy - Diaper

We leave first thing tomorrow for Brussels. We'll tell you all about it when we return!

Dress Code

If you are planning a trip to London and are worried about what to pack, let me put your mind at ease. Two words: Anything goes.
I can't think of anything a person could wear over here that would be the wrong thing because I see everything you can imagine, every day.
Last night is a good example. Keith went to the theater with his students so I set out on my own - a trip to the London Transport Museum, then a walk around Covent Garden. It's one of my favorite areas to wander in - not just the market there, although I do love to browse in the shops - but the entire area, including the book stalls on Charing Cross and hustle-and-bustle of Theaterland.
Last night was nippy; I was comfortable in a sweater and jacket. Here's what I saw, in about a five-minute span:
** Two girls, walking together - one in jeans, boots and heavy, thigh-length belted sweater and the other in black tights, shiny silver short-shorts and a sleeveless black shirt.
** Lots of boots - thigh-high patent-leather boots (shiny gold), lots of leather knee boots with stiletto heels and mid-calf boots lots of Yetti-style fur.
** Tights worn with shirts - no slacks or skirts. The shirts are VERY short.
** Patterned hosiery - lots of it.
** Backless silver top with matching shorts.
Of course, I also saw a lot of "normal" clothes too. And that's really the point. I was really looking at clothing. No one else seems to. No matter how outrageous the outfit, no one is looking. No matter how ordinary the outfit, no one is looking. Everybody fits in.
I think that's one of the things I love about living in a city of 8 million. It's esasy to blend in and be yourself. People don't seem so judgmental about what they see, because they see a lot. People weren't looking twice at the girl with pink, yellow and purple striped hair.
Every day, I walk and ride buses and subways with people of many ages, languages, ethnicities and clothing, hair and piercing styles. About the only thing they seem to have in common is that they're either talking or messaging on a mobile phone or reading a book or newspaper.
We don't get American news channels on TV, so what we get of election coverage is mentions on the BBC or Sky News, or news from various websites. When you get news from the web, you often get the reader comments that go with it. I read those and I often shudder.
There are always going to be people who disagree with your point of view. But the vitriol with which people respond is remarkable. It's not enough to think someone is wrong - your opponent is the devil, a terrorist, warmonger, killer, thief, liar, etc... No matter what your politics, that just can't be right.
One of the best things about traveling the world and being exposed to different people, languages and customs is that you start to see people as people - not as religions, nationalities and so forth. Your world gets wider. Stereotypes are thrown aside. You begin to see that people are just people.
I was waiting to catch the bus and there was a young man waiting too. Of course, he was on his mobile. He looked like a person that some people would be a bit afraid of, and I couldn't help but hear his conversation: "Yes mum, I'll be home in half hour. I'll help you when I get there, I promise."
The scary guy didn't seem so scary anymore. He was just a regular bloke headed home to help his mum.

Sign of the times

The economic situation is as woeful here as it is in the States. Banks are being nationalized, jobs are being lost and many homeowners are going under.
All this has added up to ironically good news for us. Every day, the dollar goes up in value.
A year ago when we were here, the exchange rate for $2.17 to the pound. When we arrived in August, it was about 2-to-1.
Today, a pound is worth $1.71. So, our money is going a little further. Thank goodness!
Here's a sign I spotted at a nearby pub called The Hat and Feathers.

London Walks

There are a number of walking tour companies here in London. For most of them, you show up at an appointed time and a guide leads the group around an area, pointing out things of interest. You could spend a year doing this in London because there truly is no shortage of things that are interesting.
But what may interest me may not interest you, right? That's why Keith and I have created our own London Walks. We tend to go where our feet take us and we always see something new and wonderful.
Saturday started out with a bit of melancholy as my sister Cara and friend Laura left for their flight back home. They were terrific guests and we loved having them here. We had tentative plans for Saturday - we intended to travel to Chelsea - the other side of London, in every way imaginable - to watch a football game at an "American" bar.
Keith's doctorate is from Texas A&M University and there is an A&M alumni group. Excuse me - it's not alumni, it's Former Students Association. That's a verbal peculiarity about A&M, and they're a bit fanatical about it. Anyway, Keith had exchanged emails with a member of the London group and there was a group game-watching party set for 5 p.m. Saturday. (That's an 11 a.m. kickoff back in Texas.)
So off we went to Chelsea. There were some refurbishments on the Underground lines as there often are on weekends, so we had to come up with an alternative and rather circuitous route to Sloane Square, which would get us close to Chelsea.
There is no Tube station in Chelsea. You get the feeling that residents of this area are quite pleased, thank you very much, that their area isn't so easy to reach.
Back in the '80s, the Yuppie population of the Chelsea area were nicknamed the Sloane Rangers. The years moved on but the name stuck. So Sloane Square and vicinity is an area that drips money. All the prominent designers have stores here. You feel like a total slob just walking down the sidewalk.
The bar/restaurant we were headed to turned out to be about 15 blocks down Kings Road from the Tube station. We went in, but found no Aggies. There were, however, a not-too-friendly group of Texas Tech alums. We sat around for about 15 minutes and decided this was going nowhere fast, so we kept walking. A few blocks down the street we spotted The Big Easy, another "American" restaurant that calls itself a crabshack. (Did I mention that Chelsea has a large American ex-pat community?) We looked at the menu (all restaurants post them outside) and decided to go in.
The menu was about as American as you get here: ribs, chicken, burgers, steaks, potato skins, wings.
Keith and I spent three years living on the Gulf Coast so we took "crabshack" as a challenge. For London, it was a decent version; in Mobile, not so much.
We ended up getting two appetizer: crab claws and wings. The wings were called Voodoo Wings and I'm really not sure exactly what they were, but they were not hot wings as we have come to know them. They were spicy and buttery with a hint of cumin. The crab claws were on ice - about four of them. I love crab in any form or fashion, but eating those bits of meat made me long for the tiny, tasty marinated crab claws we ate by the bucketful in our Gulf Coast days.
After our snack we continued to explore Chelsea and the shops along Kings Road. We arrived at a cinema just in time to take in "Burn After Reading," which opened here in the UK on Friday. The plot kept us guessing, but more notable: the theater which had three flights of stairs to the box office and an additional two flights into the theater.
After the movie, more walking, then home - all of this on a beautiful, clear night that only hinted of fall.
On Sunday we decided to take another journey. For this one, we took the bus that goes by our flat down to London Bridge, hopped off and started looking around. Our intention was to head to the Charing Cross area but darn that weekend work ... we had to find another way. We're always up to the challenge so we found a route and started walking.
An interesting discovery: Faithful readers will remember my earlier post about The Law of the Loo. Well, in the middle of this lovely Sunday stroll, nature called. We decided to duck into a restaurant, order a drink and use the facilities. We went to a place called Ultimate Burger, Keith sat down and I disappeared down the steps to the bathroom.
When I came out, he was standing in the hallway. Seems that his order of a banana milkshake and a Coke (5 pounds, yet) was a non-starter. He was told that he had to order food, not just drinks. So we left. I felt I was a teenager, diving into a bathroom without buying anything! Well, we tried ...
After a walk home and a little time to freshen up, we headed out to the Barbican Centre - about 12 blocks away - for a London Symphony Orchestra concert. The Barbican is actually quite a nifty facility; we've been there twice before. It's been around for 25 years but is much maligned by Londoners. It's a bit modern for London but it's a fine place to watch a symphony concert.
Today was a back to life day ... work for both of us, laundry and marketing. I'm going to share some photos from along my walk to the grocery store. According to my pedometer, it's a 7,000 step walk. But look what I get to see! (As always, click the photo for a larger image.)
I'd have to call this a perfect London night - it's raining but we're warm inside with cups of tea and bowls of stew.
When I walk around London, I always think of people who have walked these streets before me. Charles Dickens wrote in this very neighborhood. On Sunday, we were a block from the church Shakespeare attended. My mind wanders, and perhaps it's those "ghosts" of London that propel me as I walk.
Late this afternoon it seemed that the season changed, all of a sudden. Cara and Laura never opened an umbrella while they were here, and the weather was sunny and pleasant. Around 4 p.m., the chill set in and the rain started. It hasn't stopped. It doesn't matter. This is London. It should be raining.

Eye in the Sky

We had a couple of wild rides today - one on a wheel overlooking the city and one on the streets, searching for a Harry Potter mask. One was a success; the other, not so much.
Laura came to London with a request to find something called a Harry Potter Death Eater Voice Changing Mask with Interactive Wand. This was for a 10-year-old and would be a major score in the gift department. We called around, looked around, asked around and finally found the mask this morning at a store called Forbidden Planet on Shaftesbury Avenue. We asked them to hold the mask for us but they don't hold merchandise, they said. So we took the bus, two subways and a four-block walk to Forbidden Planet to collect the mask. At this point, my curiosity was killing me. Just what does a Death Eater Mask do anyway?
We arrive at Forbidden Planet and ask for the mask. We're told it's gone. It was the last one they had, it had been there for months, and in the past hour, it had sold. We were crestfallen. After all that, to leave without a Death Eater was such a disappointment.
But we didn't have time to dwell on our dismay because we had an appointment to ride the London Eye.


The Eye, built to celebrate the Millennium, looks like a cross between a bicycle wheel and a Ferris wheel. When you see it at a distance you never think it's moving. That's because it moves at just 10 inches per second. You barely know you're moving.
The wheel is made up of 32 egg-shaped glass pods (Eye pods ... get it?) that hold about 25 people. There's a eye-shaped wooden bench in the center if you want to sit down during the 30-minute ride - but why would you? You can walk about freely as it rotates and you can take amazing photos of London in all directions.
They say some 30 million people have taken a ride on the Eye since it opened in early 2000. Today we saw a wedding party getting on, bride, groom, attendants and two picnic hampers. The joke around here is that you get in, get married before you reach the top, and the rest of the marriage is downhill from there.
We waited in a fast-moving line as we waited our turn to board. The wheel never stops, but it moves so slowly you have plenty of time to walk aboard. Then you're up, climbing higher and higher, until people are tiny specks and the Thames looks like a ribbon of shimmering green.
I will admit that I have been a little apprehensive in the past about riding the eye. I'm not deathly afraid of heights but I don't exactly love them either. And the Eye takes you 443 feet in the air - that's pretty high. But I've been seeing this thing forever and I just wanted to have the experience. You have to face your fears, step out of the comfort zone, right? So I just walked into that pod and started climbing.
I don't know what overwhelmed me the most. Since the Eye is at Westminster Bridge, you're right across the Thames from Big Ben and the House of Parliament and that's a view I never get tired of. You also see the river as it curves through London. You see the BT Tower, the Gherkin, St. Paul's (a building that never ceases to amaze me), Buckingham Palace and lots of green - Green Park, Hyde Park and so on. You can even see Wembley Stadium, way off in the distance.
If you love this city as I do, book a flight on the Eye. It's the quickest 30 minutes you'll ever spend. What a joy to climb so high ... and I refuse to believe it's all downhill from here.

Puttin' on the Ritz

Today I had the most elegant of birthday celebrations - it was swanky, special, fancy - even - especially - ritzy.
I had Afternoon Tea at The Palm Court of The Ritz London.
Wow.
My sister Cara and friend Laura treated me to this posh outing. We made reservations for 7:30 p.m. and arrived just in time. We were escorted into the tea room and tried our best not to gawk and stare like a trio of North Carolina hillbillies. We were not allowed to take pictures, so I'll just have to describe the experience, although I'm not sure I can find the words.
The Ritz London has been in the same spot on Picadilly for 102 years. We walked through a revolving door into a small lobby with thick carpets and soaring ceilings and down a long hall to the Palm Court. We had seen photos of the Palm Court and it's so elegant but smaller than it looks on the web. That's probably because three sides of it have mirrors - gilt-edged and very ornate. You walk up three wide marble steps into the oval-shaped court, which has about 25 round tables with cream-colored linen tablecloths and velvet chairs with white and green wood trim.
Our waiter wore a black tuxedo with snappy red vest and of course, he had impeccable manners and a creamy British accent.
We ordered the afternoon tea. Now, I have had tea at several places in London but this was far and away the most elegant and I am going to tell you, if you are coming to London and you want the real deal, save your pounds and pence for the Ritz. You will love it.
Now, back to the tea ...
We had beautiful bone china with a green and gold trim. Two silver teapots were on the table, along with silver tea strainers and a three-tiered silver plate stand. On the top plate were an assortment of pastries - a piece of sinfully rich chocolate cake, two different kinds of fruit tarts, a napoleon, a raspberry-lemon layered cookie and an almond-y mousse.
The bottom plate held cut sandwiches. We started out with three of each: smoked salmon, ham, chicken, cucumber, mature cheddar and egg mayonnaise on a small roll. We munched on those and a waiter walked by with a big silver tray. "More sandwiches, madame?" Never one to say no to more of anything fabulous, I nodded affirmatively. He whipped out big tongs and put five more sandwiches on our plate. These are smallish sandwiches - you could make three out of two slices of bread. But we got refilled twice. First time that's ever happened at tea. Go, Ritz!
Then come the scones and dark fruitcake. The scones, which honestly do look like little biscuits, were melt-in-your-mouth good, especially with fresh clotted cream and strawberry preserves on top.
While we were eating, musicians (pianist and strings) were playing beautiful music. I felt like I was on the set of a 1930s movie, and I wouldn't have been surprised to see Fred Astaire dance right by us.
Now here's the cool part: This was a birthday present to me, from generous Cara and Laura (thank you, thank you, thank you!). The regular tea is 37 pounds per person. If you want birthday tea (which adds a glass of champagne and a tiny cake with a candle), the cost is 58 pounds per person. So I told Cara that I wanted just the afternoon tea - birthday tea was just too much.
Well, the person two tables over had birthday tea. Here comes the teensy cake and champagne AND the violinist came over and played a lovely rendition of "Happy Birthday to You." Well, I got to bask in the glow of the song, pretend it was playing for me and save 63 pounds in the process. How neat is that??
When we left, we walked out into the slightly chilly evening and allowed the doorman to hail a cab for us. You can't ride the Tube after an evening at the Ritz. We were three Cinderellas and that black cab was our pumpkin coach.

Night at the Theater

"You're just too good to be true
Can't take my eyes off of you
You'd be like heaven to touch
I want to hold you so much
At long last love has arrived
And I think God I'm alive
You're just too good to be true
Can't take my eyes off of you ..."

Do you know this song? If you do, like me, you grew up listening to Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. Maybe you haven't heard one of their songs in years, but listen for two seconds and you'll be humming along.
"C'mon Marianne," "Big Girls Don't Cry," "Rag Doll," "Dawn," "My Eyes Adored You," "Sherry," "Opus 17," "Let's Hang On." Those are just a few of the songs I grew up listening to Frankie Valli sing.
So tonight was a true treat. We went to see "Jersey Boys" at the Prince Edward Theatre in London's West End. From start to finish, it was fabulous.
We left the flat mid-afternoon and took the bus over to the Charing Cross Road area. We ate an early dinner at a nifty place on Dean Street called Spaccanapoli. (It means Split Napoli in Italian and is named for the market street that splits Naples in two.) Keith and Cara went for exotic pizzas covered with things like artichokes, black olives, mushrooms, ham ... that may not seem exotic to you but anything beyond cheese, tomato and sausage slides off my radar. Laura and I had chicken with ham and cheese and pasta on the side. It was excellent.
Our plan was to hit the half-price ticket booth in Leicester Square after our dinner. We hoped to score tickets to a show for a discount price.
"Jersey Boys" was my first choice. There's so much to see in the West End - "Spamalot," "Mama Mia," "39 Steps," "Billy Elliott," "Wicked," "The Lion King" and "Dirty Dancing," among many others - but I had heard good things about "Jersey Boys" and wanted to see some fun and peppy.
We really hit the jackpot. We got tickets on the 15th row, center, for 38 pounds each. That's about 25 percent off.
And let me tell you, it was a bargain!
"Jersey Boys" is the story of the Four Seasons - their start as Jersey hoods and their rise to fame and the ups and downs that went with the ride. The sets were exquisite. The cast was wonderful. And the star of the show, Ryan Molloy, was perfect as Frankie Valli. That's a tough task, considering that he had to sing in that Frankie Valli falsetto. And amazing when you realize that this man who sounded just like a "Joisy Boy" is actually an British actor.
We're so happy we had this experience. After the theater, we walked down to Caffe Nero and gushed over the show. All of us loved it.
We now have a theater to-do list. How do we get it all in?

Another birthday in London

Believe it or not, I just spent my second birthday in a row in London. We were here last year on the big day, and again this year. I'm up for coming back next year. Third time's the charm, right?
I've had a fun day. Laura and I went over to Oxford Street and bought some pretty scarves from a street vendor. Scarves are all the rage here in London. People wear them with everything from jeans to dresses. We bought two for 5 pounds - a good deal. All kinds of colors and patterns. I could have bought a Chanel knockoff bag for 10 pounds but it was bright parrot green and big enough to bathe a child in.
We went into Selfridge's which is the coolest place to shop in London. It's gigantic like Harrods but in a much more manageable way. You can actually walk in there!
We stopped in the chocolate shop so Laura could pick out a few tasty souvenirs - they do have some delicious chocolate in London. Then we went down to the Christmas department (as mentioned earlier, I am a Santa collector) and we checked out the ornaments. Then I spotted Biscuit.
Biscuit is an animatronic Golden Retriever puppy. He is called a Furreal Friend. He responds to voice commands such as "Sit," "Give me a paw," "Beg," "Lay down" and "Speak." He wags his tail and pants with his pink tongue. His fur is fluffy and soft.
He costs 150 pounds.
My first dog was named Biscuits, so it seems fated that I should have this dog. What do you think?
If you prefer dinosaurs, they have an animatronic triceratops too. He's big enough for a child to ride. He can munch cloth leaves and smack his lips, and he closes his eyes on command and starts to snore. He's bigger than Biscuit so he's 100 pounds more.
Animatronics didn't exist in the Middle Ages when I was a child, but I did have my very own dinosaur. It was green and took up a lot of space in the living room. I think my father brought him home from a Sinclair gas station promotion.
So I had my own Biscuit and dinosaur, just not the fancy ones in Selfridge's.
Today we celebrated my birthday with flowers, cake and a trip to Nando's. Keith brought home the flowers and my sister fashioned a vase for them out of a Coke bottle. Isn't she creative? I had a chocolate cake - no candles (we didn't want to start another great London fire).
If I had had candles, I know what my wish would have been - health and happiness for all and a lot more birthdays in London.

The Brits and Basketball

Keith here. Back home, I’m not especially a fan of the National Basketball Association. I haven’t seen a Charlotte Bobcats game since they moved into their downtown, excuse me, uptown arena.
But an interview with New Jersey Nets and former UNC basketball star Vince Carter in The Daily Telegraph caught my eye the other day. His team was here over the weekend to play an NBA pre-season game with the Miami Heat at the 02 Arena. I think it’s the second straight fall that a couple of NBA teams have made the trip over and there’s talk of a regular season game possibly being played here in the future. I didn’t see this weekend’s game – like I said, I don’t do the NBA back in Charlotte – but I did read the story about Carter with interest.
And it reminded me, as I’ve written before, that many of the sports that take up most of the time and space in U.S. sports coverage barely rate a mention over here. While the NBA is attracting increasing international attention, Carter remarked on how he could walk the streets of London with relative anonymity. I laughed out loud at this anecdote: a local walked up to him as he sat in a restaurant wearing a Tampa Bay Buccaneers cap. “Does that (TB) stand for tuberculosis?” the old gentleman asked. (The Bucs are probably about that popular with Carolina Panthers fans right now. )
The story also reminded me of an interview I read with Paul Gascoigne about five or six years ago. If you don’t know who that is, that’s exactly the point of this entry. He was a star of the English national team and the English Premier League in the fading years of his career who at the time was thinking about playing for D.C. United of Major League Soccer, the top U.S. pro league. One of the best things about coming to America, he said, was that he could walk around, go to a nightclub or out to eat without being mobbed.
David Beckham, of course, did make that leap last year. But he’s transitioning from being a part-time soccer player to being a full-time celebrity, so it’s not exactly the same thing.
At any rate, basketball commands only a small amount of space each week in the sports section here, but I’ve found it interesting that the Atlantic Coast Conference has a rather big footprint in English hoops. Luol Deng, who played for one year at Duke before going pro with the Chicago Bulls, is the star of the English national team. The London team in the English professional league is coached by former Tar Heel player Steve Bucknall and one of his players is London-born Olu Babalola, who played at Clemson.
A true ACC fan doesn’t leave the love of the game behind even when he’s across the ocean, so I may have to take in a game before we’re done this semester. We’ll see how it goes.

Impressions

I have invited a couple of guests - Cara and Laura - for quick impressions after their first 36 hours in London.We were just sitting here talking and they were commenting that they're enjoying being here because they're able to see things with us that they would miss as "regular" tourists.

Here are a few:

Laura: It reminds me of New York except the buildings are older. All the people hustling and bustling ... hearing all the languages they speak. It's hard to tell who is a Londoner and who isn't. I love the old building.

Cara: I love all the pretty architecture. It makes the town have a lot of personality. I keep looking in the wrong direction when I cross the street.

Laura: I don't think I could drive in London.

Cara: The cars drive really fast.

Laura: And the food ... there are restaurants everywhere.

Laura thought the subways were similar to New York. Cara had never been on a subway before, but she was surprised that the trains travel so fast.

They're both impressed at the temperament of Londoners. Everyone they've met has been friendly and polite.

So where did we go today? We took bus and subway to South Ealing for Sunday roast at the New Inn. After reading our blog entry back in August, Cara and Laura decided they wanted to go there. I think they both enjoyed the trip because it's a little outside of London and the trains actually travel above ground for a little while.

The roast was delicious once again. The weather today is summer-ish so our walk to and from the train station was pleasant.

Once back on the train we decided to get off at Knightsbridge and explore Harrods for a couple of hours. We walked through the food halls and gaped at fruits from all over the world, cases upon cases of chocolate treats, gelato, coffee and special teas. We walked over to the Arcade and bought a few gifts. Then we headed upstairs to Christmas World so we could marvel at the ornaments and beautifully decorated trees.

Heart and pocketbook collided for me when I saw a beautiful Santa ornament. I collect Santas and my eyes sparkled when I saw this one. It was a British Santa with iconic British pieces on his cape and his bag. I immediately had to have it ... until I saw the price - 69 pounds. I could not do it. (I am, however, accepting donations for the Jayne Cannon Santa Fund. It's not tax-deductible but you'll feel so good bringing joy into the heart of a Santa fiend.)

I did get a special gift at Harrods - a dog. Faithful readers know I miss my dear chocolate Lab, Mocha. Keith bought me an adorable stuffed yellow Lab which I have named Velvet, after a retired guide dog I met Friday in Bath. Velvet is perched at the edge of my keyboard. I am enjoying having a dog - even though it's a stuffed one. I prefer to think of her as low-maintenance.

At 6 p.m., Harrods closes and we headed home. More fun tomorrow - sightseeing and showing off our town. My sister has cancer and her stamina is not what it used to be. But she's here and we're taking as slow as she needs to. Just having her here has been a great birthday gift to me. The rest - as they might say here in London - is just the custard on the pudding!

Market Madness

If it's Saturday, we're hitting the market, right? Especially since my sister arrived this morning!
Cara and her friend Laura arrived about 11:30 this morning. They left Charlotte on the good old 7:50 p.m. flight - but they were late leaving because someone on the plane had a denied visa and they had to get their luggage off the plane. This took two hours. What an exciting way to start a trip!
Anyway, they arrived and we took off to the Portobello Road market. Cara was a focused shopper and she really found some nice things. She discovered a store that we had to practically drag her out of. They had the most gorgeous silver pieces - and really odd pieces too. We learned that if you buy English silver it is marked so you can tell the date. We looked at so many pieces and Cara knew what most of them were for, too. Once I get past knife, fork and spoon, I'm over my head, but the silver lady was impressed with Cara's knowledge of oddball silver pieces. She gave her a nice discount too.
I bought a 1928 jam spoon with a mother of pearl handle. So I'll be pretty fancy serving my Smuckers from now on.
We got home from the market and Cara and Laura were beat, so Keith and I fixed supper, including my now famous-on-two-continents shepherd's pie and a raspberry, sherry and custard trifle. (Okay, I didn't make that. I bought it. And it was GOOD!)
Tomorrow is more fun with the Surry County girls - I get to be a real tourist and guide too!

Bath and Stonehenge

Friday we had a fun traveling day. We left London early on a bus headed for Stonehenge and Bath.
Stonehenge was our first stop. I was snoozing on the bus when Keith nudged me and said, "Look, it's Stonehenge."
It's always weird when you see something in person that you've seen all your life in pictures. It looks so familiar but there's something about seeing it for yourself. As the song says, "Ain't nothing like the real thing."
We parked in the lot and approached the entrance to Stonehenge. Just outside are two rocks that are almost as tall as me (5 feet). One of them (the one on the left) feels like any other rock. The other one is quite cold. This is one of the strange things about Stonehenge. The rocks all appeared in this field about 5,000 years ago and they're not at all native to the area. Nor are they all from the same area.
After you walk in the entrance, you walk through a covered walkway, then up a ramp and you're at the rocks. There is a walkway around the stones - you never get very close to them. Apparently you could do so years ago, and people started chipping off pieces of the rocks as souvenirs.
As you look at these enormous rocks, you wonder how in the world they got there. Even today, with cranes and huge trucks it would be a feat to put all those rocks out in the middle of the English countryside. But how in the world did they haul those enormous rocks back then? Some of them may come from Wales, about 150 miles away.
And why are they there? No one knows for sure. There are lots of theories, including that the rocks are some kind of primitive calendar or calculator. Some believe they have religious significance.
Walking around that circle gives you plenty of time to contemplate it all. Friday was a clear but windy day, and it was good day for thinking about the how and the why. I guess in the end, I think that it's kind of neat that we don't know everything about Stonehenge. The mystery adds to the interest.
After you walk around the big circle, you've done about all you can do at Stonehenge. The gently rolling hills surrounding Stonehenge are full of black-and-white cows and sheep, quietly grazing in the shadow of this iconic site.
So, it was back on the bus, and an hour's drive to Bath, a real charmer of a town. Bath's been around since 1st century A.D. The Romans settled the town because they found healing warm springs there. They stayed about 400 years but those bath remain. We toured the baths and they are fascinating. Water continues to bubble up, 100,000 gallons or more every day. The water there now was probably rainwater 10,000 years ago.
But aside from the baths, I found so much to love about Bath. It has a gorgeous Abbey (around 500 years old) built by a man named Oliver King. His signature can be found on the front of the Abbey - an olive tree and a crown (Oliver King - get it?) He also designed the ladder on the front of the Abbey with angels crawling toward Heaven.
Bath has cobblestone streets and a beautiful river, the River Avon, running through. Across the river is the Pulteney Bridge. This river and bridge mesmerized me - they were so beautiful. Is there anything more soothing than water? What was really nice was that people were using that river - I saw a couple of gents fishing on the banks, a dog pulling out a stick and lots of people eating their lunch on benches along the river.
We had lunch in Bath too. Keith and I ate at the town's oldest restaurant, Sally Lunn's, which happens to be in the town's oldest building. The restaurant opened in 1680, but the building dates from the 1400s. The specialty of the house is the Sally Lunn Bun, a laughably huge piece of bread. We ordered Welsh rarebit for lunch and it was great - a super-rich cheese sauce with a bit of zing poured over a toasted bun. Sally moved to Bath in the 1600s from France where her father ran a bakery. She brought the bun recipe with her and rest is history.
We didn't have nearly enough time in Bath. We're already planning to go back for a day because we were so charmed by this sweet town.
Coming back to London was an adventure. A trip that should have taken 2-1/2 hours ended up clocking in at nearly four hours! Traffic was beyond horrible and our bus driver had a really heavy foot on the brake so it had the feel of a thrill ride. I am so glad I don't drive in London. And at the end of the day, I was so happy to be back home. London really feels like home now.

Irish Blessing and a Bit of Philosophy

I think there are lots of Irish blessings but I found this one on a card this week in a funky store on Upper Street. It touched my heart and I wanted to share it.

May you always be blessed
With walls for the wind,
A roof for the rain,
A warm cup of tea by the fire,
Laughter to cheer you,
Those you love near you,
And all that your
heart might desire!


By the way, it's lonely out here in bloggerland! Is anyone out there? We'd love to hear from you if you're reading us. I'll leave you with a philosophical question - food for thought: If a blogger blogs and no one reads it, is she really blogging?

The Accidental Stroll

Tonight we decided to have dinner in Covent Garden. That's a simple trip from our flat - one Tube change, a few blocks of walking and we're there. Easy-peasy.
After dinner, we decided to turn left on Long Acre instead of going right and walking two blocks to the Covent Garden station. We figured we'd walk a few blocks and check out some new scenery.
Here's the problem with such a simple plan: In London you always see something down the block that looks interesting, so what starts out as a simple walk around the block becomes more than you bargained for.
Covent Garden is a fun place to visit. You may know it from "My Fair Lady" - it's where ELiza Doolittle met Henry Higgins. It was actually a Saxon trading port until the 9th century and agricultural land until the 17th century. Starting in the 1700s, Covent Garden started crawling with pubs, market stalls, gambling dens and the like. By the 1800s, it had cleaned up and become a vegetable, flower and fruit market. Today, it's full of trendy boutiques and shops, restaurants of all types and even a couple of celebrity hangouts (The Ivy and Bungalow 8).
As we walked down Long Acre, we were intrigued by a tall building bathed in blue light. So instead of turning as we planned, we walked toward the building, which happened to be the Freemason's Hall. From there, we made a right turn and found ourselves smack-dab on Drury Lane, in the midst of Theaterland. We passed a place called the Connaught Rooms - very swanky - with lots of men leaving in black tie. The theaters were lit up; I wanted to go in everywhere. We saw the theater where "Dirty Dancing" and "The Buddy Holly Story" are playing; then we turned another corner and saw The Lyceum, the gorgeous theater where "The Lion King" is playing.
Now here's where we made a mistake. We knew The Lyceum is on The Strand, and we knew that we could get to the Charing Cross tube station if we walked down The Strand a few blocks. But we turned the wrong way.
But what a great wrong turn. This journey took us down Aldwych by the amazing St. Mary le Strand Church. This beautiful church, built in the early 1700s, literally sits in the middle of this very busy thoroughfare. Obviously, since it was nearly 10 p.m., the church was closed, but I want to go back in the daytime for a tour.
Right around the church are the BBC World Service building and the London School of Economics. (Did you know that Mick Jagger attended the London School of Economics on a scholarship? He did - but didn't finish. I guess he couldn't get no Satisfaction there.)
At this point, we had no idea where we were headed, but we liked the view so we kept walking. Next up: The Royal Courts of Justice, an absolutely gorgeous piece of architecture. At this point, we're on Fleet Street, one of the most famous streets in journalism history.
Until the 1980s - and certainly before newspapers started adopting a slash-and-burn budgeting system - Fleet Street was the home for every newspaper in London and bureaus from newspapers all over the world. All the major wire services were there. On one building you can still see the painted inscription: "Dundee Courier - The People's Friend." On down the street: the ancient pub Ye Old Cheshire Cheese, where Dickens and Samuel Johnson hoisted a few in their day.
At this point, we're at the foot of Ludgate Hill, within view of the awesome St. Paul's Cathedral - where Charles and Diana were married. It's truly a jaw-droppingly beautiful building - Sir Christopher Wren's masterpiece.
We grabbed a ride on the No. 4 bus which saved us a mile or so of walking and we got out close to our flat. We had about six blocks to go and it was getting late.
I wouldn't say we were truly lost at all, but we weren't quite sure just where we'd end up. In this fabulous city, it really doesn't matter - there's always something wonderful to see. That's why I love it here so much.

Ice, Ice, Baby

Planning a trip to London?
It's advisable to do some prep work. Check out some guide books. Plan a travel budget. Make a list of your must-sees - Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, The Tower of London, a show in the West End.
Oh, and here's a big one: Stop putting ice cubes in your drinks.
If you're a typical American, that's tough one, trust me.
Order a Coke in a London restaurant. Here's what you may get:
** 6 oz. chilled bottle and small glass with lemon wedge and 2 small ice cubes.
** Chilled can of Coke, glass with no ice.
** Lukewarm plastic bottle of Coke, glass with a couple of small cubes.
** Small glass, one or two cubes, Coke poured over. Roughly equivalent to 5 ounces of Coke.
You'll pay, on average, 2 pounds for your Coke. No free refills, so sip slow.
And in a restaurant, your choices are what they call "Normal" Coke and Diet Coke. Rarely do you see anything else. Pepsi is invisible in eateries here.
If you want more ice, you can ask for it, but it generally comes a cube at time.
Tap water and bottled water are the same. They're served lukewarm, no ice.
This hasn't been so tough for me, because I'm not a big ice drinker anyway. If the drink's been chilled, I often skip the ice, even at home.
But there is something almost evil about warm Coke.
Look at the bottle. Right on the side it reads "Best served ice cold." And they should know, right?

In our skinny refrigerator (over here, they refer to what we have at home as "American fridge-freezers" and they are really expensive.), we have four ice cube trays. Isn't that retro?
Occasionally, we see Cokes that aren't bottled in Great Britain. Keith stopped at a convenience store one night and picked up a Polish Coke. Another time he brought home a German Coke.
No matter where they're from, we chill 'em.
It's the right thing to do.

Hard Times

Everywhere I've ever lived, water has just been water. I guess I've taken it for granted. You drink it, you bathe in it, wash your hair, brush your teeth, clean your clothes and cook with it.
My days in London are teaching me a new way to look at water, and here's the word: Water here is hard.
I first noticed it when I was drinking tea. The tea tastes okay, but leaves a yucky brown scum in the cup. When I put water on to boil for iced tea, I put the bags in and notice that there's a slight film on the water - sort of like the skin on cooked pudding.
Then it's the clothes. I came over here with the prettiest white shirt. It's kind of gray now. In fact, everything I brought over that's white is now gray. It's strange though - our sheets are white and our housekeeper changes them once a week. I don't know her secret but they are nice and white.
When my mother was visiting the grayish-white thing drove her nuts. One day she and Keith went to Sainsbury's to buy groceries. Mom goes to the laundry detergent section, looking for Clorox, or some British equivalent. She doesn't find one, so she asks an member of staff. He directs her to toilet bowl cleaner, which they refer to as bleach. But it isn't the chlorine bleach we're used to - obviously. Now, really, who knew Clorox wasn't found all over the world?
I wasn't there but was actually on the cell phone with my husband when I heard my mother's voice say, "How do you people get your clothes clean over here?" A great moment in diplomacy.
Alas, we found no bleach and the clothes are getting grayer every day ... but better them than my hair, right?
Hard water also does funky things to your hair. It's tough to get shampoo to lather and it's hard to get that squeaky-clean feeling we all like. So over the weekend, I decided I'd enough bad hair days to last me a while. I hopped over to Covent Garden to a favorite store of mine, Lush. (Don't worry - it's not a pub!) I've been bringing Lush presents back to the US since my first visit to London. They sell wonderful soaps and "bath bombs" - these huge fizzy balls you put in your bath water to make the water (and you!) smell wonderful. Lush has opened some US outlets, but none close to Charlotte so it still has that exotic cachet for me.
Lush has these cool shampoo cakes that address all kind of hair problems. Sure enough, here's a pink one made for those of us plagued by hard-water hair. It works wonderfully. You can wet it and rub it on your head or get your hands all lathery. Either way, I used it today and I finally have decent hair again. It's about time - I was beginning to get a complex.

Some random observations:
** We must be starting to look like natives. In the past three days, we've been asked twice for directions. And we knew the answers!
** I am starting to think in pounds sterling instead of dollars. I've learned my coins really well, too. So I can now actually pay for something instead of just throwing money at someone and praying they give me the right change.
** We met a nice American family in Wahaca, the Mexican restaurant, the other night. They are from St. Louis, moved here about the time we did and will be staying a year. They have a cute little boy who goes to the American school and really knows his subway facts. A kid after my own heart!
** It's not cold and it's not rainy. I thought it would be, but we've only had one really good soaking rain in six weeks. And we still haven't cut the heat on. People keep telling us we've brought nice weather. Don't think it's true, but it's nice to hear!

A soccer -- I mean football -- fan's lament

Keith here for today’s entry. It’s Sunday evening and I’ve been thinking this weekend about what the sports fan in me misses the most by being here in London this fall.

Strange as it may seem, it’s been the ability to watch a live soccer match on TV. I’m sure I’ve seen more American football than English football since we arrived here about six weeks ago. It's a shame because unlike lots of Americans, I do appreciate the game and was looking forward to seeing a lot of it here. More about that in a moment.

Before we left to come here, I bought a remarkable device called Slingbox that's connected to our desktop computer and to our television's DVR unit at home. That enables me, via the Internet, to watch college football games on our DirectTV involving my Clemson Tigers and Florida Gators on Saturday and to follow the NFL and the Carolina Panthers on Sunday. (I’ve hit it lucky with kickoff times so far, given the five-hour time difference. A 7:30 p.m. game time back in the States is a 12:30 a.m. start here, which only the most die-hard or insomniac of fans could embrace.)

Anyway, to the original point, it’s a lot harder to find a broadcast of a live sports event on cable on the TV that’s across the living room from me right now. This would probably be a good subject for some research, but I’ve gathered that the TV rights to English Premier League football matches are pretty heavily controlled. (That’s Manchester United and Arsenal's league, to name a couple of teams that might be familiar to American sports fans.)

And as far as I can tell, they aren’t carried live on the BBC channels, a big difference from American TV where -- in addition to all the cable sports channels that make sports programming available -- college and pro football and baseball are all available to Joe Sixpack on basic cable or even over the air TV. (That is, if he’s not talking with Sarah Palin about the nation’s problems…) The average bloke here who wants to follow his or her team on TV has to pony up some extra for pay channels like SkySports 1 and 2 or Settanta Sports.

Or they have to do what I did to view the one live soccer game I’ve seen on TV since I got here, a match between England and Andorra in the World Cup qualifying round. I went to a pub and watched on the big screen.

But most of what I’ve seen of English football on TV is limited to the briefest of highlights on the evening news -- usually just “stand-up” type interviews with managers and players of the teams and very little match action. And there are some very early morning abbreviated replays of matches and a Sunday morning show on one of the BBC channels which summarizes the previous day‘s results with game footage.

Otherwise, all I know about “footie” here, I have to read in the papers -- which have next to no information about the NFL, American college football or the Major League Baseball playoffs. But that's another post for another day.

Perfect Saturday

If I were asked to write an essay titled "A Perfect Saturday in London," it would have been today. And when I tell you about my day, you probably won't be that impressed, but it was just so amazing that I can't stop smiling.
We slept late this morning. We had gone to the movies last night and then we discovered that Sky TV was running the US VP Debate at 1 a.m. So we watched it. That put us to bed late, so we got our beauty sleep this a.m.
My sister is arriving next Saturday and one of the things on her must-do list is hitting the famous London markets. We decided to go to the Portobello Road Market today so we can increase our guide credibility. Apparently the real action at the market happens early, but we still had a fine time browsing. There were plenty of tacky souvenirs but even more beautiful china, silver and jewelry. Keith coveted a nifty Harris tweed hat at a Scottish shop and I found several antique silver toast racks. We didn't buy anything but we sure had fun looking - us and a couple of thousand other people. But it was great because the day was beautiful and everywhere you looked, there was something interesting to see. We even met a very nice dog, a Rhodesian ridgeback named Marlon who wanted to lick me.
The food of the day seemed to be crepes. We saw a number of crepe stands. They didn't seem very French but they were very popular. This seemed to be the recipe: crepe batter poured over a circular griddle, then Nutella spooned over the cooking crepe. We passed.
We had walked several blocks when we spotted a store I have wanted to go in for years - Books for Cooks. It's exactly what it sounds like - a cookbook bookstore. It was heaven for someone who loves the kitchen as much as I do - loads of cookbooks, from big pricey hardbacks to local paperbacks. In the back of the store is a kitchen where classes are taught and a small cafe where food is served. We arrived too late for chili in cornbread cups but we did have a pot of Earl Grey and a piece of courgette cake. "Courgette" is what they call zucchini over here, and no matter what it's called, this cake was fabulous. It was moist and delicious and was plated with yogurt and chocolate sauce. I don't have the recipe but plan to get it.
I could have bought a dozen cookbooks as I am quite a collector, but the tiny store was very crowded and I didn't have much time to look. The lady who served the cake suggested that weekdays are much less crowded, so I will come back and browse a bit.
After our stop, more walking, and then a bus ride over to Knightsbridge and a stop at Harvey Nicks. My sweet hubby bought me an early birthday present (some wonderful perfume called SheWood!) and we got some cold cuts for Keith in the deli. (It's College Football Saturday, after all.)
After our shop stop, we went to Covent Garden and ate a traditional dinner - Mexican!We had passed this place a few times - it's called Wahaca. It was very good - fresh and tasty and not very expensive, always a plus. I had Tortilla Soup and it was a perfect choice. By this time, it had turned a little colder and just a bit drizzly and the soup warmed my bones perfectly.
While we were eating, we had a madcap notion - why don't we walk home? It can't be more than a few miles, right? So we did!
The walk was perfect. We started there in Covent Garden, right by Trafalgar Square and we walked down Charing Cross Road, right through the theater and bookstore district. We passed by everything from the big old stores - Blackwells and Foyles to the specialty shops like the mystery book shop with a mannequin of Sherlock Holmes in the window. The street was busy and all that hustle-and-bustle was exciting. After Charing Cross, we hit Tottenham Court and Holborn, then on toward home. It was a long walk but a fun one. We saw lots of things you can't see on the bus - certainly not on the subway!
As I walked I just kept thinking that I must be the luckiest person on earth - I get to spend these days in the most exciting city in the world in my favorite season of the year with my favorite person in the whole world. How could life get even one bit better?

Friday Night at the Movies

Here's something that's pretty much the same in the UK and the US: it ain't cheap to go to the movies.
We walked up to the local cinema tonight. This is the first Friday night in a while that we haven't had something to do, and it's been a long week. I've been feeling puny with this lingering cough and I had a lot of work to do today. So let's do something fun!
As faithful readers will remember, I've mentioned that we have a "shopping center" in our neighborhood called the N1 Centre. Among the shops and restaurants there is what we thought was a small theater called the Vue. We went there tonight to see "Tropic Thunder." It's been out for a while in the States but just opened here a couple of weeks ago.
The theater is on the second floor of the open-air shopping center. We walked in to the small lobby and bought our tickets (9 pounds, 50 pence per ticket). I kept thinking, "Wow, where can we get a drink" because the lobby was pretty spartan.
Then we hit the escalator and found the concession stand. It contained the usual popcorn, nachos, candy and sodas, plus a wall of bulk candy. You could also buy wine and beer. Lots of different price combos: 2 drinks and a big popcorn, etc..
We chose popcorn and drinks. I was a little taken aback when I was asked if we wanted sweet or salty popcorn. We chose salty - I'm not sure what they would have done to it to make it sweet because they just put it in a box for the "salty" version.
After we got our eats, we lined up to go into the part of the building where the nine screens were located. We estimated that there about 200 seats in the theater; when we bought out tickets, the screen at the ticket window said 56 seats were left.
We sat down about 8:20 for the 8:30 show. There was an usher on duty who announced that every ticket had been sold so the theater would be filled. He suggested that we move to the end of the rows to make it easier for people to be seated.
The theater was indeed full. The movie was funny and after it was over, we walked out and then just kept walking, not to the car, but straight on home, something neither of us had ever done before.
Just like back home, we left the movies with a lot less change in our pockets. But a night out is fun for a change, even even when you're away from home.

No Place Else

I have a confession today. I did something I swore I wouldn't do while I was in London.
I went to Chili's.
Yep, that Chili's. There are 100 in your neighborhood and there are six in mine. I had lunch in one today.
A little background is in order here. Chili's is something of a running gag between my husband and me. He loves Chili's; me, not so much. I don't hate it; it's just waaay far down on the list of places I prefer to dine out. Keith really likes it. I'm not sure exactly why - there's no food there he particularly loves. Generally, he gets a hamburger. But 99 times out of 100, if we're going to get a bite out somewhere, he'll say, "Let's go to Chili's!"
Usually I just give him the No-Way-I-Am-Going-To Chili's look and we're done.
Also, I will say that Chili's has a bad association for me. We ate at Chili's a few hours before Keith had his heart attack. I'm not saying there's a link ... I'm just sayin' ...
Anyway, today we went over to Canary Wharf. That's about as an American experience as you can get in London. It's an enclosed mall, a sprawling, gleaming tower of glass and retail excess. It's part of a large complex of offices and financial institutions - it's where Lehman Bros. was headquartered here in London.
We walked around for a while and it's time for lunch, and there it is, calling to Keith like a beacon on high.
CHILI'S!
It's on the fourth floor of Cabot Place East, a section of the vast complex. There are three "fine restaurants" on that floor - Pizza Express, Itsu and Chili's. Keith was like a kid on the way to see Santa. He was practically giddy at the idea of eating at Chili's.
So in we went. It looks exactly like the Chili's back home - dark green walls, blue and yellow tile table, little apostrophe chili in the logo.
Menu's pretty much the same too - except that they don't have the Southwestern Eggrolls, which I like a lot.
They do have bottomless soft drinks, which is a novelty in London. And they actually put ICE IN THE GLASS. That's MORE of a novelty here!
I got a bowl of chili - how original! It was served with rice and black beans which I mixed into the chili. Keith got a burger, which he relished. I asked our server if he had any crackers (any self-respecting former Texan wants saltines with their chili, thank you) and he said yes. He brought me some tortilla chips. Close enough.
So we traveled across the ocean to eat at the neighborhood restaurant. I gave in. But I'm not budging on Pizza Hut, Subway, McDonald's or Burger King.

TV or not TV - That is the question

How much do you like TV?
Enough to buy a fancy set? One for the bedroom, maybe one for the kitchen too?
Enough to invest in cable or satellite programming?
Enough to pay just for having the set in your home?
Welcome to London, where Pay-TV takes on a whole new meaning.
A couple of weeks ago, we got a bit of a shock when an official-looking letter appeared in our mailbox asking us to pay a 139 pound (about $280) TV licensing fee. (That's for a colour TV; a black-and-white set is 47 pounds.)
Now, this is not a bill for cable or satellite - it is quite literally a fee that everyone in the UK must pay just for having a television set in the house, whether you turn it on or not.
In our house in Charlotte, we have three colour TVs - which means that we'd have to pay 417 pounds per year ($800+) just for having those televisions. Again, that doesn't cover any programming except basic four-channel BBC. It's just a licensing fee.
As it turns out, we didn't have to pay the fee as we are not the official leaseholder of this flat. While we were waiting to find this out, I really started thinking the whole TV thing.
I didn't come to London to watch TV - and thank goodness. There's not a whole lot on. We tend to watch the news here (BBC or Sky News - no CNN) and not a lot else. There are some game shows, many shopping channels (there's a British QVC - the actual channel QVC with British hosts), lots of music shows and American TV reruns - Friends, Scrubs, The Wonder Years, Ugly Betty, Desperate Housewvies).
During the day, there is a wretched Jerry Springer-Maury Povich kind of show called The Jeremy Kyle Show. Jeremy is as smarmy as Jerry/Maury, just with a British accent.
Reality shows are big too - Strictly Come Dancing is the original Dancing with the Stars and that is a hot show. So is X Factor - which is the Idol show with Simon Cowell.
If I had to pay just to have a TV in my house - I would probably re-think my TV watching. But I would find a way to see "Mad Men" and "The Office." Wherever you are, you gotta do what you gotta do.